I just got a used saddle and i dotn know what size girth to get.  My western cinches are a 28" length.  I was told like a 30" or a 32" girth would work.  Also i do not know what size stirrup leathers to get.  I'm only about 5'2'' and i was told the long one's would be way to long.  are like 56" the long one's?  Thanks!  OH! also my friend told me to get one of the riser pads for my saddle and im just playing around with this im primarally western, so i wondered if i could use a western pad and a blanket over that.  I don't want to spend to much money just yet and see if i like english.  i was told to put a couple rugs under it. but would my idea work too? Thanks!

Welcome to the exciting and baffling world of English!  Before you go any further, may I suggest that you spend your hard earned $$$ on a few lessons with a reputable trainer - that way you get two bennies for one price: you can decide if you want to continue with English and you will have found a good source to help you get the tack you need and show you how to use it.  That is the way I started and it is the way I would go if I decided to try Western.  The trainer will usually have a lesson horse with tack, so you wouldn't even have to worry about it for awhile.

What brand is your saddle?  And a 30" girth sounds very small.  My 16hh Standardbred takes a 48"/50".  You can measure by putting the saddle on your horse then taking a tape measure and running it from the right billets to the left billets under his belly just behind his front legs.  You want to leave room for cinching him tight, so don't get a girth longer than reaches the first or second hole on each side.

 Again with your saddle, fit is very important, so a trainer or experienced friend would be best to help you there. A properly fitted English saddle usually needs only a regular square pad. Risers are used to help correct a fit problem, say on a horse with a low back or high withers.  The saddle is probably the one piece of equipment that is easiest to get wrong and will make riding more difficult and possibly painful for your horse and for you.

 Good luck on you venture.  It can be fun, interesting, exciting... whatever you want it to be.  Enjoy!  And keep us posted on your journey.

I totally agree with Poverty re. a few lessons.

Did your friend tell you why she recommended a riser pad? You shouldn't need one unless you need to tweek fit issues with your saddle. I have used western pads under my english saddle before (I ride both) and they work ok. You do need to keep in mind though that they are thicker than the average english pad, so if your saddle is already bordering on too small/pinching they can make matters worse (take a pair of shoes that's too small and then add 3pairs of socks instead of 1). If your saddle is a little wide or fits then a western pad will work fine, at least for now. In a perfect world english saddles shouldn't need any pads (except to keep the saddle clean), so if it fits right you could ride without a pad (but most english saddles don't fit most horses well enough for this to work). If you do get into riding english and plan to keep it up I would get either a white fluffy pad that's cut to the shape of the saddle (typical hunter pad) or a square quilted "dressage" type pad. You'll find these thinner than your western pad and you'll get more of the english close contact feel and your saddle will probably fit better. If you have any fit issues with the saddle then the trainer can help you pick out corrective pads to help with that, but keep in mind these are only to tweek reasonably fitting saddles; major fit issues cannot be corrected by padding.

As for the leathers, I'm 5' even and could probably get away with children's leathers. Since I like to have enough to go down into the leathers keeper, etc, I normally go for the shorter side of standard length and/or find a brand that punches more holes than the others. Your local tack shop should be able to help you get leathers that are the correct length (and if they are a little long it's not the end of the world, just punch more holes. )

I measured my horse last night for his girth and he was like a 45-46" but i ordered a 48" because he is filling out pretty fast, adn i measured from the second to last holes so i have plenty of room to take it up or let it out.  I'm not sure where my friend got the 30" girth from, but i got the measurements.

Your friend perhaps was thinking of dressage girths?  The billets on a dressage saddle are much longer and thus require the shorter girth. I'm glad you measured.

Do be certain that what you are getting is what you need since horsey stuff isn't usually cheap, aside from the chore of having to return something.

I think you already have some great answers. I agree, save your money, and take a few hard-earned riding lessons to try it out. You don't want to buy a bunch of new tack if you're not even sure you're going to stick with it. So try it out. Western cinches and english girths are obviously going to be different lengths. And so are dressage girths and regular girths. So good job measuring and getting a 48". I would suggest a nice leather girth with elastic on one side. They last a long time and are versatile  for different horses you ride. 

 

 Hope you enjoy it!

I have just bought the girth so far and the leathers and stirrups, i figure i'll just use my western headstall adn reins but my next order will have all that on there.  I'm going the cheap end of good.  I'm not buyin the absolute best, but by far not the worst either.  My friend told me to get side reins, how do they attach to the bridle and would i have to use a headstall or could i use my halter.  And as for my headstall, i have my horse in a little s hackmore right now and he goes great i had him in a curb bit with the roller in the middle, but i have a snaffle bit i dont know if its dee ring or egg-but, but anywho, what kind of bit would he be good in, he didnt like any bit too well, and the snaffle, well  he wouldnt stop to well, if ilunged him in this would that help him get used to it?  sorry for so many q's, any help would be great! Thanks!

Please do not use side reins or any other aids with longeing without the help of an experienced trainer.  It is very easy to hurt your horse and/or seriously confuse him.  Side reins are for the expert and for a horse who has been advanced in his training to the point he can achieve the goals that they are meant for.

Using Western tack... IDK, not something I am familiar with so will let someone else advise.

No to the sidereins. You don't need them unless you are really working on training the horse and need to build up topline muscles and or show the horse what you are asking and get him used to traveling that way. Since it sounds like you haven't used them, even if it comes to a point that they would be beneficial to you and your horse, you shouldn't use them without having an experienced, trusted trainer show you how, when, and why to use them and explain to you the results you are looking for. I'm assuming all you want to do is try english for awhile and see if you like it? This doesn't require retraining your horse ;) Take a few lessons and see if you enjoy it first. If you do, sidereins MAY become part of your inventory of stuff as you work on teaching your horse the proper way to carry his body and develop those muscles well on down the line (though it can be done without them as well).

If you don't plan on showing you could get a bitless bridle which applies pressure to his poll and cheeks and would probably be most similar to your hack. These aren't legal to show in though so you'll have to switch to a snaffle. D-ring or eggbutt won't make hardly any difference (cheek styles make minimal difference anyway and these are very similar). If he just doesn't stop and continues moving through the bit then you need to work with him as this is a training issue that has been masked by the hack and curb rather than a bit issue (hacks and curbs=much more stoping power because of the poll pressure and curb action). Work with him on giving to the bit, ask him to bend side to side, drop his head, teach him a one rein stop, etc. If on the other hand he throws his head up and tries to avoid the bit it may be that a typical snaffle hits him in the roof of the mouth (not uncommon in low palletted horses); in this case I'd recommend you go to a french link snaffle (pick the cheekpiece you like the best) because the three links will prevent it from hitting him in the roof of the mouth. Many horses like this more. If you take a few lessons the trainer might be able to let you try a few different bits on him and then you can see what works and what doesn't without spending a fortune ;)

You can use your western headstall (the only major difference being the lack of noseband which you can actually purchase separately). You should not use your hack or the curb though as those are ment to be used with a western style of rein contact and you won't be able to ride english in them. You can put the snaffle on the western bridle though; you might want to consider getting a snaffle strap (like a curb chain, but normally leather and normally not as tight) this will prevent the snaffle from being pulled through his mouth which can be a problem in a western headstall (no nosepiece so he can open his mouth much more and the bridle (especially if it doesn't have a browband and or throatlatch) is much more apt to slide around on his head).

 

Right now I can't take lessons, I'm in the middle of finding a trainer, the only one i have found is liek 45 minutes away and to go there a few times a week is to expensive right now and i want a trainer who does both Western and English, and the one i found does English, they really do not like western.  I was only going to use the hackmore until  i have the money for a different bridle which is only a few weeks.  I found a sidepull.  Would that be good to use, is it like the bitless bridle.  If not i may try the french link bit, i just do not think my horse likes bits, but he will have to learn to get used to one.  I'm waiting on my girth, leathers, and stirrups to get here.  Thats my next question, how do you put them on exactly, i think i know but is there a picture somewhere i can look at to know for sure.  I want to get them on there right.  Thanks again guys, ya'll have been a huge help!

Good luck finding a trainer. Looking and asking around in local tack/feed stores as well as other barns, show grounds, etc in the area may yield you some results. You may be able to find a trainer that is willing to travel to where you are to give you a lesson, and keep in mind that you need not take lessons a few times a week. Once a week, or even every other week will be beneficial (of course if you have to move your horse somewhere then you want one that is close enough to go see your horse a few times a week).

Sidepulls are somewhat similar to bitless bridles and you could try one. Just remember you can't use that if you ever want to show. Could you post a picture of the hack or something similar? If it is what I'm envisioning (basically something similar to a typical western hack) you should not use it to ride english. They are too harsh and the shanks are far too much to ride english style (YES, hackamores can actually be extremely harsh; don't let the lack of bit fool you). I believe there are some english type hacks that some Jumpers use, so you may be able to find something suitable; though most of the ones I have seen are pretty harsh/unforgiving (most jumpers aren't going to switch to some mild easy going bit/noseband...they need the control and know how to use it, but you don't (or shouldn't) need that much "WHOA" at this point). If your horse has had continual problems with bits it may just be that he is not used to them or you haven't found the right one, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a vet out and check his teeth and mouth for any issues since that's a common cause of bit troubles.

You may want to have your friend out to help you tack up the first time so you can get the leathers/stirrups/girth/saddle all in the right places, if that's at all possible. It is much easier to show than to attempt to explain in words. Basically though you slide the stirrup on the leather and then slide the end of the leather (without the buckle) UNDER the bar from the bottom and feed it back out over the top. You then buckle it, slide the buckle up so it rests next to the bar (as far up as it will go), and feed the excess through the keeper. This is where your friend/an assistant can also come in handy...adjusting the stirrups :) They should hit you at about your ankle bone when you are sitting relaxed in the saddle (the bottom of the stirrup, not the top ;) ). They will probably feel really short to you since you are used to western, but you should feel that way to some extent (there should be more bend in your leg than in a western saddle, etc). If your girth only has elastic on one side then hook the leather side on first (start on the same side your western girth stays attatched to). Your saddle probably has 3 billets (girth attatchments) and the girth probably only has 2 buckles; that's ok ;) Pick your favorite two basically (you'll get different theories from different people about which to use and why). I always used the front and middle ones, but if you need your girth to sit back farther then you can try the back and middle ones and it will adjust that somewhat. I, personally, wouldn't split them though (don't use the two on the outside and skip the middle one). Just make sure you use the same two on both sides. The girth should be roughly even (same number of holes on each side) so it may take some fiddling the first time or two until you figure out where your horse is.

I'm going to try to get a side pull or a french link bit.  But i was thinking, i use a *** collar on him in western, he is not as bad anymore, but when i first got him when he took off in a lope he threw his head pretty good, and for now while he's still learning, i feel safer with one on him.  In Engish what should I use on him, or should I use something on him?

What did you use on him western? Whatever you said got ***'d out by the forum, is there another name for it or can you describe it?

Since he throws his head AND he has issues with a bit the first thing I would do is have his teeth checked. When was the last time they were checked/floated? That could be a huge hunk of your problem right there...

It's not his teeth, he throws his head because he is just learning, he has gotten way better, but i feel safer with this on for now, until he is a little better trained.  Western, I use a little s hackamore.  he likes it very well.  i'm trying to figure out what to use english for now while i see if i like it or not.

With what on?

I've already given you all the bit advice I can. I was under the assumption that you were talking about something other than the bit that you needed/wanted to find the english equivalent of.